Grief Is Not A Dirty Word
Grief Is Not A Dirty Word is a weekly podcast that brings honest, real-world conversations about grief, loss, trauma, healing, and mental health into the light. Hosted by Nick Gaylord, the show creates a safe, compassionate space for anyone navigating the complicated emotions that come with losing a parent, partner, child, friend, relationship, or former version of themselves. Originally launched as Our Dead Dads, the podcast has evolved into a broader mission: to normalize grief and break the stigma around talking about it. Nick explores every corner of the grieving experience — from anticipatory grief and sudden loss to complicated family dynamics, unresolved anger, identity shifts, and the invisible pain people carry long after the world assumes they’re “fine.” Each episode features powerful, unfiltered stories from guests who have lived through loss and rebuilt their lives in deeply personal ways. Through conversations centered on resilience, vulnerability, courage, and connection, the podcast helps listeners understand that grief isn’t something to hide — it’s something that deserves space, honesty, and community. Whether your grief is fresh or decades old, whether it’s tied to death or to a different kind of ending, this show will help you feel seen, supported, and less alone. If you’re looking for meaningful discussions about healing, emotional wellbeing, and the human experience — you’re in the right place. New episodes every Tuesday. Listen on all major podcast platforms or at griefisnotadirtyword.com. Grief Is Not A Dirty Word — because every story matters, every emotion belongs, and healing begins when we speak the truth.
Episodes
DESCRIPTION:
Aimee Suyko’s mom was the person she called about everything, which made losing her especially lonely: the person she wanted to help her through the grief was the person who had died. In Episode 101 of Grief Is Not A Dirty Word, Nick Gaylord talks with Aimee about losing both parents and the caregiving responsibilities that left little room to process her mother’s death. Aimee remembers her mom’s stage...
CONTENT NOTE: This conversation includes bullying, an abusive relationship, an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts.
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: Anyone navigating pet loss, anticipatory grief or non-death grief after divorce, career changes or the loss of a familiar identity, especially people who worry that sharing their pain makes them a burden.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest conversation about grief support, coping with pet loss ...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: People grieving a father or parent, especially those whose grief has felt numb, delayed or different from what they expected.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest conversation about anticipatory grief, men’s grief, identity after loss and how talking, remembering and humor can make grief feel less lonely.
DESCRIPTION:
Roger Nairn co-hosts Dead Dads Podcast with Scott Cunningham, a name that caught Nick Gayl...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: Anyone navigating childhood grief, parental loss, chronic illness, identity loss or the pressure to appear strong while quietly living in survival mode.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest conversation about grief and healing, what grieving children need from the adults around them, and why resilience sometimes means slowing down instead of pushing harder.
DESCRIPTION:
Karen Danlovich was nine years old when her...
DESCRIPTION:
Today marks 25 years since the morning of September 11, 2001. There is no guest and this is not a traditional episode. I simply wanted to sit down for a few minutes and talk about the morning I was supposed to visit the Twin Towers, why I never made it there and what unfolded as I realized the impossible was actually happening. My experience cannot be compared to the grief of those who lost someone that day, but like mi...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: Anyone navigating grief after the earliest days of loss, especially those learning how to live fully while continuing to honor someone they love.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest conversation about mother loss, lasting grief, choosing joy, redefining legacy and carrying grief into family life and the workplace.
DESCRIPTION:
Chelsea Ohlemiller returns to Grief Is Not A Dirty Word for a conversation about what ...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: People carrying widow grief, childhood trauma, chronic illness grief, foster-care trauma or the loss of identity that follows a life-changing diagnosis.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest look at grief and loss, how support can fail grieving families and how telling the truth can help someone reclaim identity, agency and hope.
DESCRIPTION:
In this episode of Grief Is Not A Dirty Word, Nick Gaylord speaks with a...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: Anyone grieving a living parent, recovering from childhood trauma or struggling with guilt over creating distance from an abusive or toxic family relationship.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest conversation about family grief, emotional abuse, generational trauma, sibling reconciliation, setting boundaries and choosing healing without waiting for someone else to change.
DESCRIPTION:
In Part Two of Nick Gaylord...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: Anyone carrying traumatic grief, childhood loss or emotional pain they have learned to hide from the people around them.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: A deeper understanding of PTSD, trauma recovery and the difference between appearing strong and genuinely healing after loss.
DESCRIPTION:
When Susan Snow was 17, her father, LAPD Detective Thomas Williams, was assassinated outside her six-year-old brother’s sch...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: People carrying unresolved grief, traumatic loss, family addiction, shame, suicidal thoughts, or the weight of generational trauma—especially anyone who feels trapped inside a chapter they cannot imagine surviving.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest look at how isolation magnifies shame, why asking for help can interrupt a suicidal crisis, and how grief recovery is built through imperfect, repeated choi...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: People grieving who they were before a traumatic brain injury, life-changing accident or major loss, along with the families and caregivers supporting them through trauma recovery.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: An honest conversation about identity loss, grief, therapy, post-traumatic growth, dark humor and rebuilding a meaningful life when returning to the old version of yourself is no longer possible.
DESCRIPTION...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS
Anyone carrying the lasting effects of childhood emotional neglect, unresolved grief, spiritual trauma, complicated loss, or relationship wounds. This conversation is especially meaningful for people who have spent years believing they needed to earn love, acceptance, or belonging.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET
A deeply honest conversation about grief beyond death, healing childhood trauma, repairing broken relationsh...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS
Anyone navigating grief after the death of a child or loved one, survivors of domestic violence, families searching for missing loved ones, advocates, first responders, and anyone looking for hope after unimaginable trauma and loss.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET
A deeply personal conversation about grief, healing, child loss, resilience, advocacy, and how one family's unimaginable tragedy became a mission that is help...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS:
Anyone navigating ambiguous loss, identity grief, caregiving, traumatic brain injury recovery, anticipatory grief, major life transitions, or the challenge of rebuilding life after unexpected trauma.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET:
A deeper understanding of ambiguous grief, anticipatory grief, caregiving, resilience, identity loss, post-traumatic growth, and practical insight into finding purpose when life n...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS
Anyone grieving the loss of a child, supporting someone through addiction, living with complicated grief, carrying guilt after loss, or struggling with the silence and stigma surrounding substance use disorder. This episode is also for parents, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and anyone searching for hope after unimaginable loss.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET
A deeply honest conversation ...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS: Anyone navigating grief, trauma, divorce, childhood loss, PTSD, depression, emotional healing, or non-death grief experiences that still carry lasting pain.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET: A powerful conversation about grief beyond death, childhood trauma, emotional validation, mental health, resilience, healing after divorce, and how loss can shape the course of an entire life.
DESCRIPTION:
Dr. Gregory T. Obert spend...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS:
Anyone navigating parental loss, caregiver grief, anticipatory grief, dementia, cancer, young adult grief, motherhood after loss, guilt after death, or major life transitions while grieving.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET:
Practical insight into surviving the loss of both parents before 30, navigating grief while raising a young child, coping with caregiver responsibilities, managing grief triggers, and lear...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS:
Anyone struggling with suicide grief, PTSD, sexual trauma, survivor shame, unresolved loss, complex grief, childhood trauma, ambiguous grief, or the long-term effects of living in survival mode.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET:
A powerful conversation about trauma recovery, grief healing, nervous system regulation, suicide loss, resilience, boundaries, and how healing remains possible even after decades of pain and sil...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS:
Anyone navigating traumatic grief, overdose loss, child loss, spouse loss, pet loss, complicated grief, anger in grief or surviving after devastating family tragedy.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET:
A brutally honest conversation about grief, rage, survival, grief brain, addiction loss, codependency, trauma, emotional numbness and what it actually looks like to keep living after losing the people you love mos...
WHO THIS EPISODE HELPS:
Anyone navigating sibling grief, survivor’s guilt, traumatic loss, unresolved family trauma, or the lifelong emotional weight of grief after a sudden death.
WHAT LISTENERS WILL GET:
An honest conversation about long-term grief, therapy, trauma recovery, toxic family dynamics, survivor’s guilt, healing after sudden loss, and what it means to carry love and pain decades after losing someone.
...
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